By July 14, 2008 Read More →

Isaiah 55-56

The Hebrew Bible
55 Ho, all who are thirsty,

Come for water,

Even if you have no money;

Come, buy food and eat-

Buy food without money,

Wine and milk without cost.

2Why do you spend money for what is not bread,

Your earnings for what does not satisfy?

Give heed to Me,

And you shall eat choice food

And enjoy the richest viands.

3Incline your ear and come to Me;

Hearken, and you shall be revived.

And I will make with you an everlasting covenant,

The enduring loyalty promised to David.

4As I made him a leader of peoples,

A prince and commander of peoples,

5So you shall summon a nation you did not know,

And a nation that did not know you

Shall come running to you—

For the sake of the Lord your God,

The Holy One of Israel who has glorified you.

6Seek the Lord while He can be found,

Call to Him while He is near.

7Let the wicked give up his ways,

The sinful man his plans;

Let him turn back to the Lord,

And He will pardon him;

To our God,

For he freely forgives.

8For My plans are not your plans,

Nor are My ways your ways

—declares the Lord.

9But as the heavens are high above the earth,

So are My ways high above your ways

And My plans above your plans.

10For as the rain or snow drops from heaven

And returns not there,

But soaks the earth

And makes it bring forth vegetation,

Yielding seed for sowing and bread for eating,

11So is the word that issues from My mouth-

It does not come back to Me unfulfilled,

But performs what I purpose,

Achieves what I sent it to do.

12Yea, you shall leave in joy and be led home secure.

Before you, mount and hill shall shout aloud,

And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

13Instead of the brier, a cypress shall rise;

Instead of the nettle, a myrtle shall rise.

These shall stand as a testimony to the Lord,

As an everlasting sign that shall not perish.

56 Thus said the Lord-

Observe what is right and do what is just;

For soon My salvation shall come,

And my deliverance be revealed.

2Happy is the man who does this,

The man who holds fast to it-

Who keeps the sabbath and does not profane it,

And stays his hand from doing any evil.

3Let not the foreigner say,

Who has attached himself to the Lord,

“The Lord will keep me apart from His people”;

And let not the eunuch say,

“I am a withered tree.”

4For thus said the Lord-

“As for the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths,

Who have chosen what I desire

And hold fast to My covenant—

5I will give them, in My House

And within My walls,

A monument and a name

Better than sons or daughters.

I will give them an everlasting name

Which shall not perish.

6As for the foreigners

Who attach themselves to the Lord,

To minister to Him,

And to love the name of the Lord,

To be His servants—

All who keep the sabbath and do not profane it,

And who hold fast to My covenant—

7I will bring them to My sacred mount

And let them rejoice in My house of prayer.

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices

Shall be welcome on My altar;

For My House shall be called

A house of prayer for all peoples.”

8Thus declares the Lord God,

Who gathers the dispersed of Israel-

“I will gather still more to those already gathered.”

9All you wild beasts, come and devour,

All you beasts of the forest!

10The watchmen are blind, all of them,

They perceive nothing.

They are all dumb dogs

That cannot bark;

They lie sprawling,

They love to drowse.

11Moreover, the dogs are greedy;

They never know satiety.

As for the shepherds, they know not

What it is to give heed.

Everyone has turned his own way,

Every last one seeks his own advantage.

12“Come, I’ll get some wine;

Let us swill liquor.

And tomorrow will be just the same,

Or even much grander!”

Tanakh, The Holy Scriptures, (Philadelphia, Jerusalem- Jewish Publication Society) 1985.

Posted in: Visions of the End

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